Rising Above: How 11 Athletes Overcame Challenges in Their Youth to Become Stars

If your kid is athletic and/or a sports fan, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be a devoted bookworm, too. Watching and playing sports is fun, however, when your kids need a little downtime, it’s also nice to read books about sports. Here are ten books which combine the best of both worlds for sports fans, and those who love them.

This book gives an inspiring look at some of the challenging stories that 11 famous athletes faced early on in their lives – for example, the Tourette Syndrome diagnosis of soccer star Tim Howard. It’s important and necessary to show your kids that even a great athlete like Stephen Curry was told that he wasn’t good/tall/strong enough to play college basketball, however, he didn’t give up and let that discourage him but worked twice as hard.

If your kids have ever entered the Trivia Phase, this is exactly the book for them! They will head back to school with a huge collection of up to 300 fun sports facts that will help them wow their classmates.

Even the most famous athlete was once a child and this book of David Stabler and Doogie Horner is a poignant reminder of that. You might be surprised to know which football star had to do the tango in his play at school, or which baseball legend was sent to reform school. These touching tales are wonderfully entertaining, even for those who are not fans of sports.

Sports Illustrated Kids Slam Dunk!: Top 10 Lists of Everything in Basketball, by The Editors of Sports Illustrated Kids

This book is the perfect gift for kids who are basketball fans! It’s jam-packed with a lot of trivia about the leagues, game, and players. In addition, there are full-color photographs from Sports Illustrated.